Buckle up for a fun ride! In this episode of RTR, Ann joins us to share her adventures, mishaps, and wisdom from years of overlanding. We kick things off with her 5th Gen 4Runner mods (split into two parts for good reason!) and the unforgettable story of when she rammed into Garrick’s parked rig.

From there, Ann talks about how she first got into overlanding and what drew her into this community. We swap stories about legendary trails like Black Bear Pass and Moab, before moving north to the Alcan Highway — complete with Ann’s road-tested tips (and yes, Costco gets a shout-out as a trail essential).

The conversation also dives into the personal side of overlanding: making space for a partner, balancing adventure with relationships, and keeping it fun along the way. Of course, we couldn’t resist sprinkling in some overlander humor and wrapping it all up with our signature random recommendations.

Episode Highlights:

• Ann’s 5th Gen 4Runner mods (and a parking lot disaster)
• How she discovered the world of overlanding
• Adventures across Black Bear Pass, Moab, and the Alcan Highway
• Pro tips for road trips and couple travel
• Overlander jokes, gear chat, and community vibes

Whether you’re deep into the overlanding lifestyle or just curious about hitting the trail, this episode has laughs, lessons, and plenty of inspiration.

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• Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 Bone Conduction Headphones
• BTech GMRS-PRO bluetooth radio
• Swansons Vitamins

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Remote Trails Radio - Episode 22

In this episode, Garrick kicks things off with a fun fact: Enumclaw, WA, is pronounced like “enumerate,” not like “enemy”—a little slip-up from last episode. After that, we dive into what we’ve been up to since the last episode.

Melody shares her experience on a work camping trip, which turned out to be a great shakedown for the upcoming Vancouver Island trip she’s preparing for. Of course, no camping trip is complete without some margaritas to wind down. Meanwhile, Garrick has been busy brainstorming water pouch and bag ideas for his motorcycle, helping him stay hydrated during long rides. He also recaps his time at the PNW Dual Sport Rally held at Whistlin’ Jack’s Outpost & Lodge on the Naches River, a location known for its scenic beauty and great riding.

We take a deep dive into the highlights of the rally, including riding the WABDR Section 2, specifically stopping at Bethel Ridge Viewpoint and the bypass. What’s even cooler is that a new rider joined the crew for this part of the adventure! There was a quick snack stop at Rimrock Lake Resort before continuing the journey to Little Bald Mountain Lookout and Pyramid Pass. Garrick also shares some easy-to-make moto camping meals that he prepped for the trip—meals that are perfect for long days on the trail.

In our final segment, we turn to a fascinating presentation from Dr. Brian Kertson, a wildlife biologist, who gave us an insightful talk on cougars. Dr. Kertson covered everything from cougar behavior to conservation efforts, shedding light on how we can coexist with these incredible creatures in the wild.

• Ecoflow Delta 2
• Amazon Deeno 1500W Battery
• Shake Down origin
• PNW Dual Sport
• Whistlin’ Jacks
• WA BDR
• Mule Expedition Outfitters
• Dr Brian Kertson on Cougars in the PNW

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We're back! Our release schedule has slowed down a bit this summer as we are busy adventuring. The good news is that we'll have plenty to talk about.

This week we start with some updates from our previous episodes before jumping into Melody's vacation in Australia and New Zealand. It sounds like an overlanding paradise over there, but the conditions can be perilous so always be prepared. We spend some learning the local lingo and gushing over the Aussie's access to the Toyota Land Cruiser 70 series.

Garrick enjoyed a couple of camping trips in local favorite of Greenwater/Mt. Rainer and Wynoochee Lake. He also had the unique experience of riding in a Rolls Royce Ghost and Lamborghini Gallardo through the cascades and Yakima River Canyon. He also shares his plan to utilize bluetooth to make his GMRS radio setup hands free.

As always, we hit you with a set of random recommendations to close out the episode.

• Exped Megamat
• Australian Landcruiser 70 Series
• BTech GMRS 50 Pro
• ChatGPT

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This week Garrick recounts his recent trip to the Owyhee Canyonlands. This was a redo of a trip we attempted a couple of years ago, but unfortunately had to abandon due to the weather and trail conditions.

Thankfully this time around the weather cooperated and we were able to complete the route!

Prado Traveler walking RPG

Single Serving Sweetened Condensed Milk

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This episode Garrick is getting ready for his Owyhee Canyonlands trip and Melody spent her weekend volunteering for a rally race by running sweep and recovery.

Garrick recalls his recent efforts to add a rally tower to his motorcycle in order to block wind, increase the headlight power, and install a garmin GPS headunit.

There's a relatively new gear option in the overlanding space, modular sleeping platforms. We cover a few of the most prominent options and discuss their pros and cons.

We close out with a new set of recommendations which happen to be random!

• Oregon Trail Rally
• ONE Adventure Instagram
• Rally Raid UK - One Adventure Navigation Tower
• REI Trailgate Vehicle Sleeping Platform
• Hele Outdoors Hele Box
• Pacific Adventure Works Hideaway Sidekick
• Lose it!
• NeatClear Laundry Detergent Sheets - Travel Size

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This episode Garrick shares the details of how he broke his collarbone while cycling. Melody details a high stress recovery effort conducted on a busy road within city limits.

We cover the recent news of the combining of X Overland and Overland Journal/Portal into the Overland Collective and discuss the community reactions to a divisive statement made in the merger announcement.

We close out with some random recommendations for you!

• Recovery Point: Shackle Hitch Receiver for metal parts
• News Segment: Overland Journal and XOverland combine to become the Overland Collective
• Andor Season 2 on Disney+
• A window breaker and seatbelt cutter

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Quick disclaimer on this episode. We had a technical difficulty where our studio software selected the wrong microphone on Garrick's computer. Garrick's audio is lower quality than our usual standard, but it does get corrected around the 35 minute mark. Thank you for your understanding!

We have a couple of interesting updates from previous shows to start this episode off. First Garrick shares his terrible customer support experience with GSI Outdoors, then Melody provides a glimpse at the community interaction iOverlander is having after disabling their original app.

What have we been up to lately? Melody had a fun, if windy, trip down to The Dalles on the border between Washington and Oregon. She also figured out how to fix the rear cargo door on her 5th gen 4Runner. Garrick took a trip out to Eastern Washington to experience the Desert 100 event in Odessa and managed to drop his motorbike a ton.

Do you have a power station that you are not using between your overland trips? We share some ways to use them in between trips and maybe even save you a little money in process.

As always, we close out the episode with a fresh set of Random Recommendations!

• iOverlander 2
• Fix 4Runner Jack Cover in the cargo of the 5th Gen
• Watch the Desert 100 video by Roxanna Walitzki
• Power Station can replace home utilities: Footprint Hero with Alex Beale
• Dyson anti-tangle hair screw tool
• Use the Shortcuts app in iPhone
• Argylle movie, streaming on Apple TV+

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This week we meet to discuss Garrick's "snow" camping experience and Melody shares some upcoming events in the PNW this May!

If you're an iPhone user, you might be able to satellite text message for free! We did some testing of this feature and were mostly impressed, but there are some limitations.

Prepare yourself for Garrick's ranting and raving about gear from a few well known companies in the overlanding and outdoor recreational industries.

Have you had to deal with dirt affecting your zipper performance? We have as well! Garrick did some research into some mitigation solutions and Melody will be testing our top pick.

We close out the episode with our random recommendations!

• MSR Pocket Rocket
• Jetboil Flash
• Jetboil Stash
• May 16-18 Oregon Trail Rally
• May 24 Le May hosts Dirtfish Women in Motorsports Summit
• May 25-26 Pacific Raceways hosts Pacific Grand Prix SCCA Majors
• May 31 DriftCon at Evergreen Speedway
• GearAid Zipper Lube
• Blaster: Advanced Dry Lube
• Red Arrow Drive In in Cle Elum, WA

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